Reflections on the street, this Sept. 11

Downtown Express photo by Yannic Rack Arthur Regan, in front, and three friends marked the 9/11 anniversary with a New York Will Never Forget walk-a-thon from the Battery to Central Park.

BY YANNIC RACK | On the morning of Sept. 11, 2015, Lower Manhattan was abuzz in its usual rush, with commuters streaming out of the PATH station at the World Trade Center and office workers taking their first cigarette breaks of the day in the 7 W.T.C. plaza. But the scene was decidedly more sober across the street where, inside the closed-off National September 11 Memorial & Museum, families of victims had begun reading the names of the nearly 3,000 who were killed here 14 years ago. Around the neighborhood, residents and visitors took a moment to reflect on the anniversary.

Warren (61)

Californian visiting family, originally from Brooklyn

“It’s a bit of a difficult day. I was working for one of the major airlines that was involved. As a matter of fact, I was on shift, and I happened to be in maintenance control. We had taken a call from one of the aircraft [that hit the Twin Towers], a flight attendant on the plane. They explained that they had been hijacked, but there was not much we could offer them by way of response. The standard protocol back then was pretty much to just let them have their way. It was just a tough one. Friends of friends were inside the building and they’re no longer here. It was important to me to come back.”

Cindy Pound (46)

Battery Park City resident who was living in Chelsea on 9/11

“To be honest, yesterday I was reminiscing a lot about it, and this morning I forgot, when I first woke up. But I got a text message from a friend; he was the first person I spoke with on that day. I watched the entire [1 W.T.C.] tower be built, which was meaningful. I’m just glad people remember and I’m really proud of the recovery progress that has been made. I think the city has done a great job in balancing remembrance with moving forward.”

Jacqueline Barker (38)

Lower Manhattan resident who moved from Florida last year

“[My children] are very keenly aware of it. It’s taught in school a lot, and living down here and walking past the memorial each day…they know a lot of people who were here on that day, parents of friends. So it’s always a quiet morning, but we talk about it. I think you need to be aware of the space and the community that you live in.”

Arthur Regan (52)

Lost his office at 90 West St. on 9/11, Regan this year was leading the annual “New York Will Never Forget” walk-a-thon, a memorial walk from The Battery all the way to Central Park. Although only three people had shown up this year, he was in good spirits

“It’s a business day and people have lots of different things they’re doing. Every year is a different number. I think for different people it starts, for others it subsides. But New York will never forget.”